Super Soldier

Lin Fei, with "Lin" meaning "double wood" and "Fei" meaning "to soar," was a frail and scrawny orphan. Some claimed that Lin Fei’s personality was unusually eccentric—although he experienced emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, he only ever felt a fleeting stir within his heart, his expression always cold, showing no other reaction. He was indifferent to everything, detached from the world. Yet, he was a man of action—once he committed to something, no matter how dangerous or difficult, he would see it through to the end. Perhaps it was because he had grown up in an orphanage that Lin Fei lacked enthusiasm for many things. The only thing that excited him now was blood. Every time he saw a scene drenched in blood, he would feel a surge of exhilaration. This was also one of the reasons Lin Fei had applied to the military academy. The other reason was that any citizen of the Empire could attend a military academy for free, with meals and accommodation provided, along with a modest stipend—though the stipend was meager at best. To support himself, Lin Fei attended classes at the academy during the day, and at night, he worked as an assistant to an anatomist. In truth, the anatomist rarely came to work; most of the time, it was Lin Fei and the other apprentices who completed the tasks—removing the organs from cadavers, weighing them, placing them into preservation bags, and then refrigerating them. At the age of nineteen, Lin Fei sat in the classroom at the military academy, alongside twenty-nine other students, listening to their combat instructor lecture them on hand-to-hand combat, using video recordings for instruction. Lin Fei gazed out the window at the drifting clouds, his thoughts wandering to the bloody and thrilling "Death Mecha Combat" tournament he and his classmates planned to watch after school. The Death Combat Tournament had become popular in recent years—an event where participants piloted real mechs in brutal battles. The contestants were either mecha warriors from the Beast Empire or death row prisoners from the Dragon Federation. In these battles, the losers were killed inside their mechs. At the age of nineteen, Lin Fei felt his blood boil each time he watched the gruesome, blood-spattered combat scenes through the protective screens. These scenes made him feel more alive, giving him a sense of what it meant to be human again. As a student at a third-rate mecha department in the Empire, Lin Fei was nearing the end of his studies—only one year remained before graduation. Afterward, he might join the military and become an ordinary mecha infantryman, or perhaps pursue certification as an anatomist and lead a mundane life. For now, everything felt routine—a dull life, with a predictable trajectory. But soon, everything would change for Lin Fei. He vaguely noticed a pale feather drifting in through the window, floating gently down to his hand, only to vanish moments later. As Lin Fei rubbed his eyes, ensuring he wasn’t seeing things, a voice suddenly echoed in his ear: "Host confirmation in progress, fusion commencing." Lin Fei felt excruciating pain surge through his body—though it lasted only a second, it was a sharp, bone-deep agony. He jumped to his feet, crying out in the classroom, "Ah!" His classmates stared at him in shock. "Student! What are you doing? Sit down!" the instructor barked at Lin Fei. Seeing Lin Fei unresponsive, the instructor marched over, raising his whip to strike. In Lin Fei’s third-rate military academy, it was not uncommon for instructors to hit students. Still sweating from the sharp pain, Lin Fei tried to sit down, only to realize he could no longer control his body. He couldn’t even raise his arms or close his eyes. Unable to do anything but watch, Lin Fei saw the instructor’s whip nearing his head. “Mental strength confirmed, War God device fusion commencing. Automatic scanning initiated. Before fusion, eliminate nearby dangerous entities. Danger level 32, classified as minor threat, eliminating.” The cold, synthetic voice echoed in his ears. “What’s going on? Why am I hearing voices? Why can’t I move?” Lin Fei thought, feeling like a mere spectator in his own body. Suddenly, Lin Fei’s body moved of its own accord—not under his control. He twisted his body to dodge the instructor’s strike, moving with a speed so swift it was nearly imperceptible. In the blink of an eye, he extended his left hand, gripping the instructor’s throat, and with a sickening c***k, Lin Fei crushed his windpipe in less than a second. The classmates around him were horrified, their eyes wide with disbelief. Lin Fei wanted to explain, but he realized his body still wasn’t responding to him. The instructor, who had always been cruel to the students, was now dead at Lin Fei’s hands. Although Lin Fei’s expression remained as indifferent as ever, he felt a strange excitement at the sight of the instructor—who often brutalized students—lying dead, his eyes bulging. At that moment, Lin Fei’s ears once again rang with the cold, synthetic voice: “Threat neutralized, continuing with scanning. Danger level 14, proceeding with elimination.” Losing control of his body, Lin Fei witnessed something he never wished to see. His body, now like a shadow, moved with uncanny agility around the classroom, attacking his classmates with deadly precision. In less than a minute, Lin Fei had killed all twenty-nine students in the room. “Scanning complete. Danger level zero. Deep fusion can proceed.” The synthetic voice rang out again. “No!!” Lin Fei screamed in his mind, but no sound escaped his mouth. As the voice faded, he found himself seated back in his original position, motionless. Mental fusion successful. Twenty minutes later, the cold, mechanical voice spoke again, and Lin Fei regained control of his body. Looking around the classroom at the thirty lifeless bodies, including the instructor, and the blood splattered across the floor, Lin Fei felt a sense of disbelief. The classroom, which had been full of students only moments ago, now resembled a morgue. While Lin Fei normally enjoyed such blood-soaked scenes, he now wished it were all just a dream. He pinched his arm to confirm—pain seared through him, and he knew it wasn’t a dream. The bell rang for the end of class, and Lin Fei knew that, like always, leaving the classroom was no longer an option. His once mundane life had dissolved into a fleeting fantasy. What should he do now? Tell people that an alien entity had possessed him, causing him to kill everyone in the class, including the instructor, in under a minute? Even if he told them, no one would believe him. Lin Fei sat in his seat, his expression returning to its usual indifference. He gazed out the window at the vast, blue sky and the slow-moving clouds. His eyes were hollow and vacant.